Work

Effects of cytoskeletal disruption on transport, structure, and rheology within mammalian cells

Year: 2007

Type: article

Abstract: Quantification of cellular responses to stimuli is challenging. Cells respond to changing external conditions through internal structural and compositional and functional modifications, thereby altering their transport and mechanical properties. By properly interpreting particle-tracking microrheology, we evaluate the response of live cells to cytoskeletal disruption mediated by the drug nocodazole. Prior to administering the drug, the particles exhibit an apparently diffusive behavior that is actually a combination of temporally heterogeneous ballistic and caged motion. Selectively depolymerizing microtubules with the drug causes actively crawling cells to halt, providing a means for assessing drug efficacy, and making the caged motion of the probes readily apparent.

Source: Physics of Fluids

DOI: 10.1063/1.2795130

Authors: Daphne Weihs, Thomas G. Mason, Michael A. Teitell

Institutions: University of California, Los Angeles, California NanoSystems Institute, UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center

Language: English

Topic: Cellular Mechanics and Interactions

Subfield: Cell Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Eye Institute, National Cancer Institute

Awards: A NOVEL MECHANISM OF TCL1 TUMORIGENESIS, The Center for Systemic Control of Cyto-Networks, CRTC2 in Cellular Development, Function, and Neoplasia